Jayapura, Papua – Protests against the mining firm, Freeport, continued in Jayapura on Tuesday, with some protesters staging an overnight sit-in at the provincial legislative compound.

The protesters are demanding the closure of the company, greater recognition of local people's rights and the release of Papuan students in Jakarta, who were arrested after setting fire to the building that houses Freeport's offices.

Provincial legislators, Komarudin Watubun and Hana Hikoyabi met the protesters, and told them that they agreed with the demands and would formally convey them to authorities in Jakarta.

Komaruddin said Papuans, most of whom have no idea about the content of the contract between Freeport and the Indonesian government, demanded some openness. "All this time has passed (since the 1970s when Freeport's operations began), and yet none of us even knows what the exact arrangements of the contract are...," he said.

Hana said the protests showed that injustice had been done. "The protest is an accumulation of years of disappointment. We hope PT Freeport is willing to open up, Freeport has to realize the gold, copper and anything it is mining in Timika, belongs not to them, but to Papuans, and the owners want to know what those miners are doing there," he argued.

The council plans to hold a special plenary meeting on March 22 to discuss the Freeport issue and the protesters' demands, and the conclusions will be delivered to the House of Representatives and the central government.